“Holt is not dead,” she said. “The school is not dead. We certainly need a lot of support. The morale would be a million times better if we could just have a new facility. It would give the community hope.”

Superintendent Elizabeth Swinford said she will take the plan’s priority list to the Tuscaloosa County Commission to seek funds for the new school construction and other listed renovation projects.

“My next step is to call (the county commission’s) office and then see how they want to do this,” Swinford said. “We want to make sure that it is a public meeting. ...We will have our entire board, they will probably have their entire commission, so we have to advertise it.

“I want to do it now. Leave it up to me it will be tomorrow. I have to check their calendar, but I have some dates already from my board, though. All we’re looking at now is their calendar to see when we can have this public meeting.”

Holt High is the oldest school in the Tuscaloosa County School System. It was rebuilt in 1941 after the original Holt High was destroyed in a fire.

Holt residents have campaigned for a new building for several years. They have shown up at board meetings demanding a new building. And they have conducted visual petitions such as taking photographs of the faces of 1,500 people and hanging them up on a hill overlooking the school’s football field saying they wanted school leaders to “turn and face the change” of the school’s needs.

Swinford was not superintendent of the county schools when most of the community’s pleas to rebuild Holt High went unanswered. But when she became superintendent a year ago, she inherited Holt High’s problems and quickly said she intended to address them.

Several months ago, Swinford

announced that Holt would be her No. 1 priority on the system’s new strategic plan. But when official action didn’t quickly follow, Holt residents said they were tired of hearing what they considered all talk, and said they wanted to see some official steps taken towards building a new school.

On Monday some Holt residents said they finally got a taste of what they’ve been looking for.

“I feel good about it because just like everyone has said, we feel that Holt has been neglected for whatever reason,” said Ruby White, a Holt resident. “The people in Holt are due as great an education as the other schools. We are in the county, we’re taxpayers, and I feel that we should have the same opportunities.

“Our new superintendent, it seems to me like she is for whatever is right and is trying to help the ones that need help. We all know that Holt High and the Holt community need help. If we bring a new school then we bring new businesses, we bring new homes, we bring more families and we grow our community.”

Jason Bearden, chairman of Holt High PTO’s Committee to Get a New Holt High, said the board is now headed in the right direction, but there are many more steps to taken.

“It’s now in black and white, but it needs to be pushed to the next

issue,” he said. “As (school board member Schmitt Moore) said, ‘We want to see boots on the ground.’ ”

For the 2014-15 school year, Swinford said Holt High will have a new cosmetology class, new lights on the football field and a plan on how to close the school’s achievement gap.

That follows changes she made at Holt High last year, including hiring a new principal, hiring a graduation coach, hiring a chief academic officer, hiring a cosmetology teacher, hiring a construction teacher, paying off the school’s more than $60,000 in athletic debt and providing more than $55,000 in technology to the students of

Davis-Emerson Middle School, a feeder school for Holt.

Swinford said she’s also spent more money per student at Holt High in the past year than at any other high school. The average amount of money spent on a high school student in the system last year was $5,531.

The amount spent per student at Holt High was $6,888. The second-highest amount spent per student was $5,678 at Northside High.

Swinford said after the $32 million needed to build a new Holt is secured, her next step will be to find a location and then begin working with an architect.

<p>Holt residents won a long-sought-after victory Monday at the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education meeting.</p><p>The school board officially approved the Tuscaloosa County School System's 2014-19 Strategic Plan, and at the top of the list was a new building for Holt High School.</p><p>“I'm extremely excited,” said Alice Keene Kemp, a 1972 graduate of Holt High. </p><p>“Holt is not dead,” she said. “The school is not dead. We certainly need a lot of support. The morale would be a million times better if we could just have a new facility. It would give the community hope.”</p><p>Superintendent Elizabeth Swinford said she will take the plan's priority list to the Tuscaloosa County Commission to seek funds for the new school construction and other listed renovation projects.</p><p>“My next step is to call (the county commission's) office and then see how they want to do this,” Swinford said. “We want to make sure that it is a public meeting. ...We will have our entire board, they will probably have their entire commission, so we have to advertise it.</p><p>“I want to do it now. Leave it up to me it will be tomorrow. I have to check their calendar, but I have some dates already from my board, though. All we're looking at now is their calendar to see when we can have this public meeting.”</p><p>Holt High is the oldest school in the Tuscaloosa County School System. It was rebuilt in 1941 after the original Holt High was destroyed in a fire.</p><p>Holt residents have campaigned for a new building for several years. They have shown up at board meetings demanding a new building. And they have conducted visual petitions such as taking photographs of the faces of 1,500 people and hanging them up on a hill overlooking the school's football field saying they wanted school leaders to “turn and face the change” of the school's needs.</p><p>Swinford was not superintendent of the county schools when most of the community's pleas to rebuild Holt High went unanswered. But when she became superintendent a year ago, she inherited Holt High's problems and quickly said she intended to address them.</p><p>Several months ago, Swinford </p><p>announced that Holt would be her No. 1 priority on the system's new strategic plan. But when official action didn't quickly follow, Holt residents said they were tired of hearing what they considered all talk, and said they wanted to see some official steps taken towards building a new school.</p><p>On Monday some Holt residents said they finally got a taste of what they've been looking for.</p><p>“I feel good about it because just like everyone has said, we feel that Holt has been neglected for whatever reason,” said Ruby White, a Holt resident. “The people in Holt are due as great an education as the other schools. We are in the county, we're taxpayers, and I feel that we should have the same opportunities.</p><p>“Our new superintendent, it seems to me like she is for whatever is right and is trying to help the ones that need help. We all know that Holt High and the Holt community need help. If we bring a new school then we bring new businesses, we bring new homes, we bring more families and we grow our community.”</p><p>Jason Bearden, chairman of Holt High PTO's Committee to Get a New Holt High, said the board is now headed in the right direction, but there are many more steps to taken.</p><p>“It's now in black and white, but it needs to be pushed to the next </p><p>issue,” he said. “As (school board member Schmitt Moore) said, 'We want to see boots on the ground.' ”</p><p>For the 2014-15 school year, Swinford said Holt High will have a new cosmetology class, new lights on the football field and a plan on how to close the school's achievement gap.</p><p>That follows changes she made at Holt High last year, including hiring a new principal, hiring a graduation coach, hiring a chief academic officer, hiring a cosmetology teacher, hiring a construction teacher, paying off the school's more than $60,000 in athletic debt and providing more than $55,000 in technology to the students of </p><p>Davis-Emerson Middle School, a feeder school for Holt.</p><p>Swinford said she's also spent more money per student at Holt High in the past year than at any other high school. The average amount of money spent on a high school student in the system last year was $5,531.</p><p>The amount spent per student at Holt High was $6,888. The second-highest amount spent per student was $5,678 at Northside High.</p><p>Swinford said after the $32 million needed to build a new Holt is secured, her next step will be to find a location and then begin working with an architect.</p><p>Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.</p>